Raiders continue shake-up after firing HC Josh McDaniels

The Las Vegas Raiders announced late Tuesday night that they have fired head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler ahead of their Week 9 game against the New York Giants.

Update 1: The Raiders have also fired OC Mick Lombardi, per a report from Albert Breer. Lombardi is being replaced by QB coach Bo Hardegree, who previously coached under Adam Gase.

Update 2: Antonio Pierce wasted little time in making changes and benched veteran QB Jimmy Garoppolo in favor of rookie Aidan O’Connell. O’Connell is reportedly viewed well within the Raiders’ locker room after good performances against the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Chargers. He was drafted in the fourth round out of Purdue.

Raiders’ ownership has also named linebackers coach - and Giant great - Antonio Pierce the interim head coach. With a slight tinge of irony, his first head coaching game is against a team near and dear to his heart.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that McDaniels received a six-year contract and has over four full years left on his contract that Las Vegas is obligated to pay.

The decision was made just over 24 hours after the Raiders’ brutal 26-14 loss on Monday Night Football against the Detroit Lions. The Raiders' official X account tweeted this at 10:00 Pacific time:

McDaniels was 9-16 in less than two seasons with the Raiders; they are 3-5 in the 2023 season. His offense currently ranks 30th in points per game, 31st in yards per game, and dead last in rushing yards per game. In 2022, befuddling coaching decisions and poor management led to several devastating losses that waned fans’ confidence in McDaniels.

McDaniels buttered his bread as the New England Patriots offensive coordinator with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. This is the second time McDaniels was fired during his second season as a head coach. He was fired from the Broncos’ in 2010.

The interim coach is all too familiar territory for the Raiders. Former special teams’ coordinator Rich Bisaccia assumed the role after Jon Gruden’s resignation in 2021. Bisaccia went 7-5 and helped lead the Raiders to the playoffs. The Raiders opted to hire McDaniels at the end of the season over hiring Bisaccia as the full-time head coach.

Weirdly enough, the last meeting between the Raiders and the Giants was in a Week 9 game shortly after Jon Gruden resigned as head coach of the Raiders. The Giants won the game 26-14 at MetLife Stadium.

Former Raiders’ general manager Dave Ziegler, who was also hired in January of 2022, and current Giants’ general manager Joe Schoen have a history. Schoen traded a third-round pick to the Raiders for tight end Darren Waller this offseason. According to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, the shared interest in a possible trade was established and explored at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine.

Champ Kelly is the Raiders’ new interim general manager.

Las Vegas is on a short week, with turnover in their front office and their coaching staff. The Raiders won their first two games with Bisaccia in 2021. Bisaccia’s first loss was against the New York Giants. New York will look to earn their third win of the year against a turbulent opponent on Sunday.